FREMONT -- Tesla Motors (TSLA) has gobbled up a 35-acre site in Fremont near its automotive factory, apparently to build a test track for its all-electric automobiles.

"The land is attached to the Tesla factory property," said Shanna Hendriks, a spokeswoman for Tesla. "We will use it as we expand our use of the facilities."

Although Tesla didn't provide details about precisely how the land would be used, analysts say it would allow the company to expand an old test track that was built when General Motors and Toyota made cars and pickups there.

A Tesla Model S electric sedan is driven near the company's factory in Fremont, California, in this June 22, 2012, file photo. REUTERS/Noah Berger/Files (NOAH BERGER)

"It's a really good idea for Tesla to take over the test track," said Theodore O'Neill, an analyst with Litchfield Hills Research, an investment firm. "Having a big test track will improve the ability of engineers to work out the kinks in new vehicles."

The land purchase underscores the momentum that Tesla appears to have captured as the company pushes ahead with its electric vehicle program.

"I'm very bullish on Tesla," Colin Rusch, an analyst with Northland Capital Markets, said in an interview with this newspaper Friday.

Rusch has set a price target of $230 a share for Tesla stock, which closed Friday at $119.68.

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"We believe Tesla has demonstrated its ability to manufacture vehicles in an efficient manner," Rusch wrote n a research note Monday. "With additional investment, its current facility could potentially accommodate a run rate of as many as 500,000 vehicles a year."

Tesla's shares have climbed throughout 2013 and have more than quadrupled their value since a previous low point for the stock on Oct. 15. Since the trough of mid-October, the company's stock is up 338 percent.

"I have a lot of confidence in Tesla's ability to execute and confidence in the prowess of their engineers," said Craig Irwin, an analyst with Wedbush Securities.

The big challenge for Tesla, analysts said, is market acceptance of its vehicles.

"Tesla has to convince people to buy a completely different technology as their primary mode of transportation," Irwin said.

Contact George Avalos at 408-373-3556 or 925-977-8477. Follow him at Twitter.com/george_avalos.